It is known from European patent specification No 0 121 486 for processes for printing on individual articles by a screen printing procedure to be effected using program-controlled individual NC-drives. That publication in particular also discloses the relative movements which are performed by the parts which co-operate in the printing operation, that is to say more particularly the article itself, the screen printing stencil and the squeegee of the printing mechanism, while also disclosing how the resulting movements arise out of the motion components associated with a conventional co-ordinate system. This consideration applies in particular in regard to applying printing to articles whose portion, to which the printing is to be applied, differs in cross-section from the shape of a circular arc with a single central axis. The disclosure of that publication is hereby incorporated as appropriate into the content of the present application.
In another form of screen printing machine, as is to be found in German laid-open application (DE-OS) No 37 30 409, the machine has a number of separate, co-ordinatedly controllable drive motors for producing the movement of the individual members, in particular a holder for holding the article to be printed upon, and the screen carrier of the mechanism. The machine has a single holder which is mounted reciprocably at the front side of the machine. That machine has only a low level of productivity as it has only a single holder which is additionally movable beyond the printing region in which printing is applied to the article, to a feed conveyor on one side of the machine and to a discharge conveyor on the other side. The consequence of this is that, after termination of the last printing operation and possibly after drying, the article must firstly be removed from the holder before the holder can then be moved back into its starting position in order there to receive the next article. Particularly in the case of apparatuses which have a plurality of printing stations for applying for example a print image consisting of a plurality of colors or inks, that low level of productivity of this apparatus makes itself particularly clearly felt.